The French Cookery School – Caroline James

I am thrilled to have been given the opportunity to read and review The French Cookery School – the latest book from Caroline James. If past books are anything to go by, this book will be a recipe full of eclectic characters and fun, with a cornucopia of different emotions on the side. Not being ageist, but was it a coincidence that not a single dietary requirement had been declared amongst our aspiring middle aged chefs?

One Exclusive French cookery course, and a diverse group of participants, each with their own agenda for attending. What a wonderful canvas upon which to bring together a group of disparate people, as one. The arrival of a selection of individuals and the leaving of a pack of friends.

Waltho: I was immediately drawn to our hero, Waltho, although my heart broke for him, at the loss of his partner Lauren, with whom he had initially embarked on his French adventure. I was particularly broken at Waltho looking at how he had brought the wood of his table back to life, by working lovingly on it and opining about it being a shame that giving so much love to Lauren hadn’t had the same affect. I was really struck by this beautiful, poignant writing from our author, Caroline James. If success were to be measured equitably by the amount of love and effort put in, Waltho’s French cookery school undoubtedly couldn’t fail to be a hit!

The advertisement for the French Cookery School, sounded utterly amazing and my first thought was to sign myself up! One reality check later and I am fully immersed in the story of those fortunate enough to be booked onto the French break. La Maison du Paradis sounded utterly heavenly and I found myself enchanted not just by the beautiful grounds, but by the mesmerising interiors too.

Meanwhile I found myself hoping that Waltho would banish his inner demons and release his artistic prowess once again; his talent had lain dormant, since the death of his Wife. Despite his worries, he is a kind, astute man. An example is how he understood Caroline’s needs – to basically eat more – before she did. Not only did he recognise her needs, but he acted upon them – presenting her with the most delicicious juicy fruit, as a kind of fait accompli that she couldn’t refuse.

Caroline. Her imminent ex husband sounded, to be frank, like a complete and utter arse and I felt that she deserved every second of her week away, having spent her adult life trying to live up to what her Husband thought a wife should be! I confess to feeling so sad, when Caroline sucked on a jelly baby, as it was her first sweet for forty years! Crikey! As for her losing weight being a condition of her Husband marrying her………well, words fail me! ‘The last thing I need, as well as a child, is an overweight wife on my arm.’  – what a brutal thing to say; what an awful man! What a vile misogynistic t@#t! The sooner Caroline can prioritise the divorce, the better! No wonder she has a big fat chip on her shoulder! This woman has been missing out on life and needs to learn to start over!

The Caroline/Francesca dynamic really tickled me at first – the way that Francesca kept on just turning up at inopportune moments, but Caroline’s issues with Fran started to feel more serious. My dear grandmother would have said that Caroline would be wishing Francesca ‘up the cat’s a**e! The trouble is, I fear the class is too small for Caroline to get away with avoiding her exasperator! However, Caroline is an inveterate snob. She claimed to have been on a diet ‘her whole life’. How sad! I bet she also has a latent dislike of fat people, despite at times giving off the vibes of someone who has a big fat secret past! Caroline’s suspicious behaviour around food, gave me the idea for a great diet – The Olive Diet. Eat nothing else; in my opinion, they are so darned revolting, that you couldn’t fail to lose weight! In all seriousness though, when you are worried about eating a whole bowl of tomatoes……you really do have an awful problem with food.

Francesca. Loud, brash – as different from Caroline as you could possibly get. An inauspicious first meeting with Caroline, but hopefully the pair can overcome their differences and get along together – maybe even become friends. Regardless of what Caroline sees as Fran’s social faux pas, I was left in no doubt, fairly early on, that Fran could list being kind as one of her top attributes. Is she more affluent than Caroline might suspect though? After all, she does carry a posh leather bag around! Undoubtedly Fran is as far removed from the elegant Angelique, as humanly possible.

I really felt for Fran, in that she was only attending the course to try and realise her a husband’s dreams. I don’t think that she would want to do the course for herself. I found Sid’s behaviour a little too controlling for my liking, to be honest – or should I give him the benefit of the doubt and attribute his behaviour to being ‘of a certain age’. Regardless it does seem a tad optimistic to be hoping to open a fine dining restaurant, off the back of a one week French cookery course, even if the course is facilitated by a renowned TV chef.

I feel there may be more to Fran than initially meets the eye; is she really as bold, confident and gregarious as she initially seems, or are her clothes and makeup intricate masks, behind which the ‘real’, unconfident Fran can hide? Fran’s multi-faceted approach to life is reflected in the things she says. I found myself often wondering at the veracity of what she said. An example was when she was joking with Daniel about wanting a cast iron guarantee that she will be able to reproduce his dishes; but is she joshing?

I really did feel for Fran, when she was chastised for not finishing her sauce – she had only failed to finish, because she had been helping a rather sweaty Ahmed.

Fran is a kind woman and would do anything to help another. We should all try and be more like Fran; the world would indeed be a better place.

Daniel. Chef. A man of indeterminate age, but probably 50+.

What’s in a name? Daniel’s posh moniker, ‘Daniel Douglas de Beers’ certainly sounds the part, together with his general demeanour, belying his real reason for teaching the course – earning money to pay off his massive gambling debt. Sadly gambling seemed to fulfil a desire in Daniel that nothing else could; a terrible, compelling itch that only his nemesis could scratch. I relished the romance of the idea of a dashing young chef who has reinvented his whole being, wanting to share his passion for food with a group of eager students; I searched for my ‘emerging wet from the lake moment’ – but ultimately it really did seem to be all about the money. Daniel needn’t worry if nobody loves him – he loves himself enough to compensate handsomely, and is always ready to throw a sultry pose for the camera! Was Daniel overly mean to Fran, or was it just that he was so keen for all his participants to get the most possible out of his course?

Daniel has a little bit of an ego problem. When told he looks a bit like Elvis, he goes to great pain to explain that he is the alter ego the younger version of the pop legend. He seems able to turn on the charm at the flick of a switch, and I’m guessing that he could win prizes for the number of different products in his bathroom cupboard! What about Sally? Does he really like her or is he leading her along? I would like it if Sally could bring out the better parts of him.

Ahmed: A dentist by profession, he seems inherently jumpy and nervous – but what a sweetheart – especially for a dentist! A. An you can re.ynon.

Bridgette: A recurring character from ’The Cruise’, a previous book by Caroline James. What a treat to come across her again. Now widowed though, she is, quite frankly, at a bit of a loose end. Could it be that she is, in fact, depressed? (Note to self, to stop trying to diagnose characters in books)!

Bridgette’s confidence seems to have been destroyed, since she has seen too many friends die; she is at an awful age. Can her cookery class alumni help to restore her confidence; her ‘Joie de vivre’? It’s too soon for her to stop living her best life. It sounds crass, but maybe the company of new friends, some good food and a blast of sunshine can ameliorate her mood?

The Twins: Retired nurses who pretty much keep to themselves but when the chips are down, they come to the fore!

Sally: A journalist on a ‘freebie’. Hoping to erase the memories of a past relationship. She loves her sports car Romeo, and he never lets her down! Will Daniel let her down, or will she not give him the chance to do so. Can she tame the errant chef?

Tomas: He is passionate about the food he produces and the pleasure it gives. He seems to have no interest in the limelight; a lovely man, the polar opposite of Daniel.

What an interesting group of people. When it really mattered however, the group showed that they could work together as one, facilitated by Waltho and his own unique talent for glueing people together.

The cookery class was almost a metaphor for cooking an amazing meal:

• Take a group of different people (ingredients).
• Prepare and process those ingredients.
• Amazing output; the ingredients have all changed for the better.

Purchase link: https://mybook.to/TFCSr